


The Mercenary and The Schemer

by Dusklatte



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alcohol, Also why can't we see Jeralt or Seteth dance LET THE BEST DADS DANCE, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Byleth also loves to give detentions, Byleth has motherly instincts for any smol-, Claude being an adorable man-, Dancer Byleth, Different ratings per oneshot so I'll say if there's any nsfw content, F/M, Father and daughter deal with their problems by drinking beer and glaring at children, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route Spoilers, Generic children from derdriu, I don't want bandits getting in the way of the precious ship-!!!!!, Kiss of Life, Luckily claude saves the day!!!, One Shot Collection, Post-golden deer route, Some bandits are loud. Others are stupid. Claude will k i l l t h e m a l l, Swimming, Tfw a oneshot becomes a twoshot because it gets dark really effing fast
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-10 16:10:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20530826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dusklatte/pseuds/Dusklatte
Summary: A series of oneshots based around Byleth/Claude. Requests are welcomed!





	1. Swimming lessons

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to do this (a series of oneshots) for a while and after having a silly idea before about Claude and Byleth looking after lots of children in Derdriu after the GD route this kinda happened-
> 
> There's no NSFW content in this chapter! Just a very motherly Byleth making reckless decisions-

Claude had always assumed that Byleth was adept at a vast selection of survival skills. He had seen her work miracles with scraps of food remaining from the army’s rations, which created a hearty stew which lasted for days. He had seen her hunt, scavenge, fish and salvage. She could fight, and she could persuade.

However, there was one thing which he had assumed from the day he had met her, but never had the opportunity to find out… until today, that was.

She loved to be near water. She would always make a point about water being vital for survival. How it could be boiled so it could be safe to drink, and could house nutritious fish to eat. But he never realised…

_That Byleth could not swim._

* * *

* * *

It was many moons after the war had ended. She was currently Queen of Fódlan, and he was King of Almyra. She also happened to be his wife. They had been fortunate to find a shared week in their calendars where they had nothing to do, so they decided to have a lazy week in Fódlan's new capital, Derdriu.

Claude enjoyed having a dip in the water, as did many of the city’s children. He willingly decided to teach them to swim, so there were many excitable children splashing around him. His wyvern even got in on the excitement, and was floating around with a few children on her back.

Byleth remained sat on the pier, not donning her typical regal outfit, but rather the one she preferred to wear as a mercenary and professor. The exception to this were her stockings and boots, as she was dipping her feet into the water.A few children remained with her, babbling on about how they couldn’t wait to be old enough to go exploring as she offered small candies to them.

At one point, Claude noticed that Byleth was looking almost wistfully out into the horizon, so he instructed the children to stay near his wyvern and not be afraid to call out if they started to struggle.

He grabbed hold of the edge of the pier, and hoisted himself up to sit beside her. He was well and truly soaked, as to be expected from swimming in the ocean, but he still pulled her into a hug. “Want to join us? It’s not the same without you in the water too… Some of the kids want you to join in too.”

Byleth looked at him, and sighed as she shook her head. “I’m fine, Claude. Honestly. I prefer sitting here...” She then looked down at her knees, then at her toes wriggling under the waves. “I… don’t think I’ll be able to teach the children how to swim as well as you can. You’re so calm and easy-going, they’re basically gravitated to you!”

Claude raised an eyebrow as he let go of her, before a smirk formed on his face. “Well… If you say so...” He then shifted himself forward so that he could lower himself into the water, and turned around and leaned against the pier. “I’m not going to get out unless you join me, though.”

She groaned.

“Hey! Are you implying that you want me to live out the rest of my life all wrinkly in the water?!”

“No. I’m not implying that _at all. _I just… don’t want to go in the water right now.”

Claude then frowned as she lifted her foot out of the water slightly, and watched as small rivulets dripped off her feet. Knowing that he couldn’t persuade her otherwise though, he went and swam back over to the children to continue his swimming lessons.

_He didn’t notice Byleth watching him with as much concentration as the children._

About twenty more minutes passed, and Byleth’s attention had drifted away from Claude’s lesson. She had just been watching the day pass by, and the small wispy clouds float above the city.

_It was a nice day to not do much._

However, her plan to simply watch the sights was short-lived. She noticed a small figure further out into the ocean than Claude and the children, and it seemed to be thrashing around. There was a loud burst of laughter from Claude’s group, but at the same time, she heard a faint cry.

_It wasn’t just a ‘figure’ in the ocean. It was a **child.** To make matters worse, it was a child who **couldn’t swim. **_

She clambered to her feet, and tried to call for Claude’s attention. Annoyingly, he was too busy showing a boy how to kick his legs when swimming. So… she knew that all of the responsibility to help the child fell to her.

Frantically, she ran to the end of the pier, which thankfully was much closer to the child, and fell to her knees as she held her hand out. “Hey! Kid, can you reach me?!” She extended her fingers as far as she could to the thrashing girl, who had tears pouring down her face. “Take my hand!”

“B- But I can’t reach! Wahh...” The girl cried even louder then, as she did her best to reach out, but that meant she couldn’t keep herself above the water. “I- I want mama and papa!”

“I’ll get you to your mama and papa, just please try to come over here-!”

“I caaaaan’t! I can’t s-swim!”

Byleth cast a glare back at Claude then, as he hadn’t noticed that a child had almost managed to get swept away into the ocean. However, she realised that he had in excess of twenty children ranging from toddlers to young teens – and he was just one man. He couldn’t watch over them all.

“Right… I will try to get to you...” Byleth took a deep, shaky breath as she then discarded her coat, knowing that it would just become waterlogged and excess weight. She then held her breath as she pushed herself off the end of the pier, submerging herself in the ice cold water.

It was a huge relief when she was able to reach the girl, and took hold of her hand. “K- Kid...” Byleth was shivering as she approached her. “I- I’ll try to g- get you closer to the p- pier… H- Hold onto it and pull yourself u- up...”

The girl shivered and sniffled, but nodded as Byleth pulled her through the water towards the pier. She was extremely relieved when the girl managed to pull herself up to safety, where her warm coat was discarded.

_It was at that moment that Byleth realised… In those few moments that her almost motherly instincts kicked in to save the child, she had forgotten that she couldn’t swim. Now that she had done as she wanted though…_

“F- Fuck-!”

She had no idea what to do with her legs or her arms. The water was cold and almost constricting against her chest. Her fingers and toes were turning numb.

_And the girl she had rescued noticed the situation._

The next thing that Byleth remembered was feeling absolutely drenched, but with the warm sun baring down on her skin. A firm pair of hands were on her chest, whilst a familiar pair of lips were against hers. They quickly moved back when she started to cough up water which she had swallowed at some point.

“Byleth-!” As she choked, she felt one of the hands move from her chest to her back in an attempt to make her sit up. “You’re alive… I’m so glad...”

When her coughing fit was over, she opened her eyes slightly and realised that Claude was there (as were another twenty-ish pair of eyes, but she was luckily able to ignore them). “What… happened?” She wheezed a bit as she tried to catch her breath.

“You nearly drowned! I wouldn’t have noticed if it weren’t for a little girl screaming and pointing to where you were...” He took a deep breath, and pulled her into a calming embrace. “You could have told me that you couldn’t swim… I would have helped you too!”

Byleth grumbled as Claude helped her to her feet. “Sorry, kids. I’ll help you all with your swimming again tomorrow if the weather is good. I need to get my wife home and into some dry clothes.” He then leaned in to her ear, his mouth curved upward in a smirk and winking one of his eyes. “I’ll give you a ‘private lesson’ at home too...”


	2. Dancing. Just no. - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Rhea asks to see the Officer's Academy students, they all assume the worst.  
Not that... she wanted to hold a second White Heron Cup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hah... This was starting to become a long oneshot for my standards, but then it got really dark really fast and like... I'd rather have the fun bit first then the dark, kinda NSFW bit in an optional second part...
> 
> This oneshot (twoshot?) is loosely based on a request for dancer Byleth :3

“-and that explains the basics of the pincer formation. Are there any questions before class finishes for the day?” Byleth was sat in a slightly lounged position as she looked over the class of at least sixteen students.

Normally, she would exclusively be teaching the Golden Deer class, but today, Manuela had declared that she was sick and infectious – which translated to hungover and heartbroken – meaning that the Blue Lions were also packed into the room. This was also not including the addition of Petra and Bernadetta, who had transferred to the Golden Deer a few weeks prior.

“I have a question, Professor. If, say... you had only one target, one person for the pincer attack...” Sylvain piped up. There were a few giggles as well as a few sighs. “For example, my buddy Claude and I...” He swung his arm over the Golden Deer's house leader's shoulder, a wide grin on his face. “If we were ‘sparring’ with you, would a pincer formation be appropriate?”

Byleth raised an eyebrow as Claude smirked. She knew what Sylvain was implying by the extremely emphasised use of the word ‘sparring’ and the face being pulled by her star student. “I'd need more context than that, Sylvain. Where are you attacking? What weapons? Would I also be armed?”

Sylvain seemed caught out by her questions, so he tugged at his collar as he did his best to answer them. “Um... In a dorm room... Forged swords... Nope?”

Byleth rose to her feet and approached Sylvain's desk. She frightened everyone when her hands slammed down. She may or may not have given Bernie and Marianne heart attacks too. “In that situation, I would say that a detention is more appropriate, Mr Gautier. See me after class.”

A chorus of “_Ooh" _and laughter filled the Golden Deer classroom. Except for Petra at the back, she was confused as she believed it to be a perfectly valid question, not a poorly performing innuendo.

“However... I was asked to send you all to the Audience Chamber once class finishes. Lady Rhea wishes to speak to you all about something,” Byleth sighed, returning to her desk. “You’re dead if you don’t come back after, Sylvain. Claude too, for that matter. I can see that smirk. Anyone else who finds it funny too can join them in writing lines and running laps.” She then dismissed the class, glaring at the snickering pair.

There were many discussions about why Rhea wanted to see all of the students from the Officer’s Academy as they all made their way to the second floor of the monastery.

It was no surprise to find that the Black Eagles had arrived before the Golden Deer and Blue Lions – many of them shook with fear when they saw Hubert glaring down at them. Dimitri took it as a sign of aggression, leading to Dedue holding him back. Ingrid just pointed at Sylvain when Edelgard gave them all a suspicious glance.

Finally, Rhea emerged, surprisingly without Seteth by her side.

“Good afternoon, Students... I am so happy to see you all here,” she began, a smile forming on her face. “I shall try to keep my request of you all simple... As you may know, this month holds the White Heron Cup for you all. I believe your professors have already chosen each class' representative?”

Glances were cast towards Dorothea, Mercedes, and (somewhat to Rhea's amusement) Claude.

“I do not understand why that concerns everyone, Lady Rhea. I have no interest in dancing, and likely never will.”

_Trust Felix to put most of their thoughts so... bluntly._

“In a... break away from tradition... I believe that the celebrations should not be simply for you students. The year has been so difficult, and everyone should be permitted to relax. We shall be holding a separate White Heron Cup competition for the others. I wish for each of you to nominate a teacher, knight, and member of the church to participate.”

Needless to say, a brilliant idea formed in Claude's head.

* * *

* * *

The dining room fell silent when Byleth entered that evening, her feet heavy and eyes narrowed as she looked over all of the students.

People began to whisper when she growled that she needed the two biggest tankards of beer possible to the dining room staff. Fortunately, due to the time of year, the staff were more open to providing alcohol to those who were at least eighteen years old.

Once Byleth had possession of the booze, Jeralt walked in with a similarly frustrated look on his face as she passed him one of the tankards.

“Hey, uh... Claude?” Leonie leaned into her classmate as he silently ate some of the game-y stew which was served that day. “I think you've pissed the Eisners off.”

“Nah. I just _influenced_ everyone to do that.”

A heavy silence continued to fill the room, until Byleth slammed her empty tankard down onto a table. She wiped her mouth with her wrist. “Okay... which of you little shits decided not just that _I_ have to dance in a competition, but I have to dance against my father _and _Seteth?!”

Everyone pointed to Claude as he was in the middle of spooning some of his stew into his mouth.

_He wasn’t eating his stew for much longer._

Instead, he was being dragged out of the room by his braid by Byleth, as Jeralt made a very inappropriate ‘_you’re dead, kid’_ gesture in his direction.

Once a far enough distance from the dining hall, inside the Golden Deer classroom, Byleth slammed the door shut and locked it.

“It seems as though you weren't satisfied enough with a detention, were you?” She folded her arms and began to glare. “Why did you get everyone to nominate me, of anyone?!”

Claude winced at the bitterness in her tone and alcohol on her breath. However, she was pulling a face he had never seen her use before that point... Not that she had been able to convey emotions on her face much until recently… but this was a face of _complete and utter rage._

_He didn’t like it at all._

“W-Well...”

“_Well?”_

“You’re a-amazing, Teach... You’re young, fit, smart... A-and dancers are known to be encouraging on the battlefield... like you...”

Byleth’s eyes instantly widened, and her expression grew softer and calmer. Though Claude was known for his silver tongue, she knew when he was being genuine... and this was one of those times.

After a few moments of thinking about Claude’s words, she reached a point of acceptance and nodded. “Well, seeming as we now both have to prepare for dancing competitions, we may as well practice together. Help me push the desks against the wall, will you?” Then she paused. “This wasn’t your plan, was it, Claude? An excuse to dance with me?”

Claude coughed as he quickly turned his back and started pushing at a desk.

“As my father bluntly put it a few weeks ago, he’s seen the look in your face when you’re looking at me. Claims it is the face of adoration. That you’ve got ‘the hots’ for me.”

“Yeah, but… who doesn’t?”

“Dunno. Felix? Most of the student populace?”

“You’ll be surprised, Teach… I think even Edelgard wants a piece of you.”

An awkward silence then filled the room, aside from the scraping of table and chair legs across the floor, leaving scuff marks which no doubt poor Cyril will have to deal with. Then Byleth remembered the windows at the back of the classroom, so she did her best to draw the curtains which were there in order to stop any prying eyes from seeing what was going on between the two of them.

“I guess your competition has the same rules as ours, Teach? That you’ve gotta pretend to be dancing with someone but you’re not?” Claude eventually asked as he stepped out into the middle of the now bare room. “If that is the case… we may as well practice together. As in together together. Not together as in the same room but separate. Togeth-”

“Claude. Say ‘together’ one more time and you’ll have twenty more laps of the grounds of Garreg Mach to add to the ones you did before.” Byleth then shed her coat and tossed it onto one of the desks at the sidelines, and stepped to face Claude. “And that was the intention anyway. I can’t dance, and you… _may _know how to dance...”

Claude feigned an offended expression. “Are you saying that I, Claude von Riegan, next leader of the Leicester Alliance and crown prince of Almyra, cannot dance?!” He clutched at his chest in a dramatic way, before laughing. “Well you’d be right there. I know the absolute basics, and just wing it after that.”

Byleth sighed.

“_What an absolute buffoon! Walk out of this classroom right now and find a more responsible dancing partner! That prince of Faerghus is probably a better option...”_

She also did her best to shut out Sothis’ lectures.

“Well… I’m not letting you leave this classroom until I at least know the basics, so we had better get to it before it becomes too late...”

* * *

* * *

It reached the middle of the month – the time where the Church of Seiros edition of the White Heron Cup was set to take place. Jeralt was _nowhere _to be seen – it widely being thought that he went and took some sort of mission which would last until the time where the Golden Deer class assignment for the month at the abandoned chapel was set to start.

So… that left a dance competition between none other than Byleth and Seteth. For obvious reasons, Flayn was Seteth’s biggest cheerleader. The rest of the Golden Deer were desperate for Byleth to win.

The judge of the competition was none other than Rhea herself.

“With the absence of Sir Jeralt, and the unwillingness of other candidates from the Knights to assume his position-” Byleth knew that was a lie – Alois had been desperate to participate, just had never gotten around to asking Rhea – so she simply shook her head. “-the competition will be between the Church of Seiros and the Officer’s Academy Faculty. Our dancers shall be Professor Byleth and Seteth. The winner receives the same prize as the student competition – certification as a dancer.”

From the sidelines, Claude gave Byleth a wink and a thumbs up. That encouraged her _somewhat. _However, once the music indicating the start of the competition began, her mind blanked out.

“_For goodness sake! Just try to remember what that child taught you! Arms in the correct position, feet delicate, and don’t trip up!”_

For once, Byleth appreciated Sothis’ lecturing.

She carefully held her arms up, and knew that she _had _to be doing the right thing based on the approving nod of Lorenz. She did her best to step along to the music, and eventually closed her eyes because there were _far _too many eyes fixated on her as she embarrassed herself in public.

However, after about thirty seconds, there was a thud and the music stopped.

Slowly opening her eyes, she then realised that Seteth had managed to _trip over his own feet. _Flayn had run over to him quickly and hugged him as he laughed off the awkwardness. Rhea was still smiling as she sighed and shook her head.

“Well… That may have been short, but by process of elimination, we have a winner for our competition. Congratulations, Professor.”

* * *

* * *

“Please! Please please please can we go out to battle this Sunday, Professor? We _really _need to see you as a dancer!” Hilda was hovering around Byleth’s shoulder, for once wanting to go into battle because attention wouldn’t be on her. “Pretty please with a cherry on top?”

Byleth pinched at the bridge of her nose when she realised that she wasn’t going to be left alone until she caved in to the request. “I _swear, _I’ll _even do chores _if you do! _Please?”_

Eventually, Byleth had reached her breaking point. “_Fine. _I’ll take the class out for some battles this weekend,” she began, holding her finger up at Hilda’s mouth before she could squeal with excitement. “But you will have to do three things until the end of the month. One – the dishes after every mealtime. Two – extra credit assignments which I give out. Three – no worming your way out of doing things by calling yourself ‘delicate’, because you aren’t, Hilda.”

“I- Okay, Professor… I’m going to go and tell everyone to make sure we’re ready for battle this weekend then!”

* * *

* * *

Byleth was horrified at how quickly it reached the weekend. She had essentially no time to herself that week either – as the Golden Deer’s ‘resident dancer’, she had no choice _but _to help Claude in his practice for the student competition next Monday.

And now… She was staring at the bizarre outfit she had on in a mirror, horrified that she was going to have to wear this _to battle. _Far too much bare skin, and too much flowing material. She much preferred her typical outfit, because at least the loose parts were to be behind her.

_That, and it was freezing. And part of her certification as a dancer required that she wore this outfit. Not even this outfit with her coat. Just… this._

She flinched when there was a knock on her door then, before it opened without her having a chance to ask whoever it was to wait a moment. Claude stumbled in, his face a bright red. Whether it was from her appearance or the temperature, she would never know.

“Phew! I’m glad I found you, Teach… There’s been bandits spotted in a nearby forest. A _lot _of them. I was told to tell you that because our class were going to be heading out anyway, we are responsible for fighting them off...”

“R- Right… Give me a moment...” She then looked at the Sword of the Creator, which was emitting a dull red glow in the corner of the room, before she shook her head.

_It was only bandits. She didn’t need a relic such as the Sword of the Creator. A normal steel sword would do…_

“By the way, Claude… If I fall ill after this mission, please blame Hilda. And also, just under that stack of books…” She pointed to her desk. “There are some extremely difficult tests quite literally with her name on. Give them to her if I do end up in the infirmary.”

Claude had to hold back a smirk when he realised that she was not kidding - ‘HILDA’ in big, bold letters were on the top of the pages he could see.


	3. Dancing. Just no. - Part 2 (Quite NSFW at parts, TW in notes)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As per Hilda's request, Byleth takes the Golden Deer class out for a practice battle so that she can demonstrate her new dancer class.
> 
> However, Byleth is the only one who doesn't return once the battle ends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a(n optional) follow up to the previous oneshot...
> 
> In my opinion it's quite dark, and rather NSFW at parts. Also a trigger warning for attempted rape.

****“Now, do you all remember what I taught you at the beginning of the month?” Byleth was stood with her students at the top of a hill, looking down into the forest below them. They could just about see the group of bandits roaming around between the trees. “They’re all in one group – ideal for a pincer formation. Sylvain is _clearly _an expert at this, so he will lead one group. The other group… _Hilda.” _Everyone could tell that she was picking on the students who had frustrated her the most that month.

“What about you, Professor?” Lysithea appeared confused at what Byleth’s involvement would be in the battle plans. “You shouldn’t be left to prioritise one group over another, especially if the bandits begin to fight recklessly...”

“I’ll try to slip between the groups. Petra has been wonderful in demonstrating how she can move in a light-footed manner, so I should be able to go between both groups with ease.”

Claude frowned.

_That would mean that Byleth could potentially be putting herself in danger… What if she were to be confronted by multiple bandits wearing… that extremely revealing dancer dress…_

  


Claude’s worst fears were realised when the Golden Deer class reunited after defeating the bandits they could see.

Everyone was present and accounted for.

_   
_

_Everyone except Byleth._

  


* * *

* * *

  


  


Byleth winced in pain as she tried to move her arm, which felt somewhat numb. She knew that something… wasn’t right. But she didn’t know what.

  


“_You’re finally awake, you fool! You never should have gone into that battle!”_

  


Sothis’ voice was the only thing which felt right, in a not-so-reassuring way.

  


“_Do you not remember what happened?! Silly human… You got your children into that ‘pincer formation’ you taught them, before you got caught in the middle! Surrounded by those beasts of men who fought and overwhelmed you, even with my powers! You’re tied and bound to a tree, and you cannot escape unless your children come looking...”_

  


She then felt a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. The numb feeling in her arm… That must have been from the way she had been tied, and the way that the bark of the tree was digging into her skin.

  


“_Be wary. You are blindfolded, and unaware of your surroundings. I shall do my best to assist you in your predicament, but alas, my powers can only do so much.”_

“… thanks, Sothis.” There was a hint of bitterness in her tone. If Sothis could bend time, could she not bend space too? Make it so that she was _not _in this predicament?

“_I would if I could! That is even beyond me. You fool...”_

  


Byleth was then left to try and figure out what she could about her situation. Her arms were pulled to the back of a tree, and from what she could feel, her ankles were also tied together – just not to the tree… That gave her the ability to kick at any possible assailants, at least.

Obviously it was cold, being winter and all… But it was _very _cold right now. Likely the start of nightfall. Either her captors were intending to leave her here to die, or wait for her to be weakened by the cold so that…

_Oh._

_Oh no._

_They likely wanted to wait for her to be _ _weak enough so that she was_ _ unable to fight back whilst she wore this vile dancer outfit…_

After a while, she heard a crunch in the nearby frozen grass as somebody was walking over to her. It really frustrated her to be unable to see who it was, though she didn’t have that problem for much longer.

A large, rancid smelling hand grabbed hold of the blindfold, and tossed it aside. That left her having to blink to adjust her vision, but in that time, her throat was grabbed and her head pushed back against the tree.

“So… you’re the prize we picked up when those kids slaughtered most of my men...”

Byleth’s instinctive reaction was to spit in the man’s face. It’s what she had been taught by Jeralt ever since she was little regarding unwanted advances or attention. Plus, it was the only option other than ‘kick him where the sun doesn’t shine’, and she wanted to save that for when she _really _needed it.

“Disgusting… That’s just going to make things worse for you now, sunshine.”

“You’re not scaring me. Takes a lot more than empty threats to make me fear you.”

“And you seem to act like we don’t know who you are. Oh, we know you. Daughter of the Blade Breaker, the Ashen Demon herself…”

And then, fear finally took over.

_This man – or men? She didn’t know if there were more where he came from – knew who she was. And had incapacitated her. They essentially had all power over her… And they knew that the only person who was stronger than her to try and help her out was her father._

“What I don’t understand… is why the Ashen Demon was found in a forest with a group of brats, dressed like a _slut._” Byleth’s eyes narrowed at the venom-laced words coming out his mouth as his grasp of her neck tightened. “And seeming as you’re tied up, I might as well find out.”

“I’ll kill you with my bare hands as soon as my arms are free.”

“And how about I fuck you until you give up your little tough act?”

“Hah. There’s only one person I’d prefer to do that, and trust me, you’re nothing like him. For one, you’re not part Almryan, or much of a schemer. A person who was at the very least _competent _in planning to kidnap a woman in the middle of a forest to violate her would make sure that she can’t attack them in response to their unwanted advances.” She then thrashed her legs out, landing a kick – _a kick whilst she was wearing heeled shoes, at that – _right between his legs.

Her throat was released as he staggered backwards, and she had to admit, she could feel the adrenaline coursing through her body. Now, if only she had a dagger to cut her hands free-

  


“You… You’re in for it now, bitch...”

  


“… _Unless your children are nearby, you’ve gotten yourself into a worse situation than you were previously in! Even if I use my powers at this very second, you will still be bound to this tree! You fool!”_

  


  


* * *

* * *

  


  


Claude couldn’t quite believe that his fellow classmates had decided to return to the Monastery. They believed that Byleth would have returned there, that she was simply testing their ability to be independent on the battlefield for once they graduated from the Officer’s Academy.

He… had a horrible feeling in the pits of his stomach that she was still somewhere in that forest. She wouldn’t have left them all to make their way back on their own… Or was she still so much of a mystery to them all, that only he knew that she wouldn’t?

Despite what everyone else had told him to do, Claude had grabbed hold of his bow, and snatched the sword which Sylvain sometimes used. He went back into the forest, and yelled that he would return to the monastery in time for classes the next day.

_Fully aware that the dancing competition that he was meant to be participating in was before classes started._

From then, he was on a one man mission – to find his Teach, and get her back to Garreg Mach as soon as possible.

Surprisingly, it didn’t take him long to find a small group of bandits who had survived the assault from the Golden Deer. They were talking far too loud, so he climbed up into a tree to listen in.

“I can’t believe a bunch of kids beat us up… Most of our guys are dead now!”

“Yeah, but did you hear about what the boss managed to do? He found a damn good prize in the forest. He thinks we’re gonna get some good action with this one.”

“A prize you can get action with? Don’t get it.”

There was a loud outburst of laughter then, and Claude frowned. He wasn’t liking the sound of what he was hearing at all. He grabbed one of his arrows, and started to aim towards the one being loudest – the one talking about what their ‘boss’ had done.

“Didn’t he find like, some whore?”

“Nah, it’s not just _a _whore, she’s like… the best prize you can get your hands on. You know that mercenary group who almost wiped us out about a year ago? The one led by the Blade Breaker?”

_Yep, Claude did not like this conversation._

“Yeah. It’s all the boss talks about when people ask about his scars when he goes for a drink.”

“Well… The Blade Breaker has a daughter. The ‘Ashen Demon’. That’s the prize… Boss says if he can break her enough, we get to have a turn- Ack-!”

_Claude had enough. _He wasn’t going to stand by and take hearing a bunch of low-life bandits talk about his Teach like some sort of… _toy_ for them to play with.

He pulled out a second arrow once he knew the bandit he had attacked was going to bleed out from the puncture wound in his neck. Claude knew the exact places he needed to pierce to cause a fatal injury.

_After all, that’s what Byleth had taught him._

“Okay, _men. _Unless you want to end up like your ‘friend’ here, tell me where the hell your ‘boss’ has Byleth. You’ve got ten seconds before I shoot again.” He jumped down from the tree, his green eyes narrowing in on the two remaining bandits. One looked smug. Had a knife behind his back that he assumed he couldn’t see. The other was shaking.

Claude’s patience grew thin – he shot an arrow at the thigh of the knife-wielding bandit. Once he was on the floor, screaming in pain at the blood which was seeping into the grass, Claude approached the fearful bandit.

_Hopefully this one would show signs of intelligence._

“Now… I shouldn’t have to explain this to you, but I’ll keep this brief. Maybe you’ll make the _right _decision.” He made sure he had a third arrow ready to shoot if necessary. “Your ‘boss’ has taken Byleth Eisner hostage. You seem to already know that she is known as the ‘Ashen Demon’. As well as that, she is a professor at the Officer’s Academy at Garreg Mach Monastery.” He then lifted his arm, his bow pointing directly at the chest of the seemingly crying man. “Those ‘kids’ you fought? I’m one of them. We are her students. And you’ve now seen first hand what we can do to _low-lives _like you single-handedly. Now… If you don’t want to end up dead like your friends here, tell me where your boss is.”

“A- And why should I?! You’re just some kid!”

“’_Just some kid’? _Hah, well aren’t you a comedian.”

  


_He let his arrow fly. No care in the world for the blood which splattered all over him for shooting at such close range. He’d make more progress looking around than listening to those dead fools._

  


* * *

* * *

  


  


Byleth felt frustrated that though she was able to fight off some of the unwanted advances, she couldn’t stop them all. Especially once the man pulled out a knife and held the blade against her throat. His threat regarding that had absolutely disgusted her.

_He had said that even if she were a corpse, he would still do all of the… horrible things which he had described. _

She was thankful for her slight inability to show emotions, especially with how her mind was overwhelmed with them. Fear, anger, sadness, pain… all of them were plaguing her, but she couldn’t convey that.

“Why won’t you just _beg _for what you’ve got coming?! After everything you and your damn father have done to me and my men, it’s only fair!”

_So being stopped from committing crimes by mercenaries was the equivalent to whatever torture he was trying to put her through? She was glad that she didn’t know what sort of mindset made him believe that…_

“I wouldn’t beg even if my life depended on it.”

She hadn’t been expecting to receive a slap across the face for her response. She believed that the force of it had been enough to cut the inside of her mouth with her teeth, as she felt something warm dripping from the corner of her mouth. For that matter, it felt like it was burning her, considering how cold she was feeling now.

_Even if she wanted to continue fighting back… unless the surrounding temperatures increased, she would be too weak to continue soon enough._

“Once my students realise that I’m not there, they’re going to come looking. And trust me – they can handle themselves well in a fight. How else are most of your men _dead _right now?”

“Shut your damn mouth, you _bitch.”_

Byleth smirked when she realised that the thought of her being looked for brought on some sort of look of dread on her assailant’s face. However, she didn’t notice that he saw her smirk.

“You think you’re _so _clever, don’t you? That you’re going to get out of this without a mark on your body? Well trust me… you’re thinking _wrong._” Byleth suddenly felt all of the air taken out of her as she felt his fist impact with her stomach. As she feared, she didn’t have too much energy to catch her breath and pull herself up from the somewhat slumped position she was in. “You’re going to be nothing but damaged goods when I’m through with you.”

She wanted to thrash out when she felt him grab hold of fistfuls of the loose material of the dress she was wearing, and she tensed up when she heard it _tear. _It left her torso exposed to the elements, and she didn’t like it. The cold air was constricting against her chest.

_She desperately wished to be warm in her room back at Garreg Mach._

From the corner of her eye though, she noticed a flash of yellow… She knew that yellow. It represented not just the Leicester Alliance, but a particular Officer’s Academy student would wear a cloak of that colour.

She then glared back at the man who had her tied to the tree. He looked greedy and disgustingly lustful at the sight before him.

Before he could even _dare _lay a hand on her body though, an arrow shot through the air, directly past the man’s head, and hitting the tree just above her own.

“That was just a warning shot. Step _away _from Byleth _now._”

Despite struggling to show emotions, Byleth smiled when she heard the calming tone of her star student. The student who knew her better than herself.

“I _said… _step away from her. _Now!” _Byleth could just about see Claude behind the man, his face seemingly enraged… and blood splattered all over his skin and clothes. “You’ve got no people to hide behind. You’re on your own. Now step away, before I do to you what I did to your men.”

Then… she noticed that there appeared to be another emotion on Claude’s face. She wouldn’t have picked up on it if it weren’t for him teaching her the intricacies of emotions a few weeks earlier. He was concerned… and reluctant. He didn’t know if he should shoot, just in case it resulted in her getting hurt in the process.

Before she could do any sort of indication to tell him to just kill the man, she realised that her assailant had hold of the knife he had previously threatened her with. He was looking over his shoulder too…

Her eyes widened in fear.

“Claude! Watch out!” Her call out at the moment the man moved to attack was just enough warning for Claude to step back, and let his arrow loose. It hit its mark almost instantly – right in the dick.

_If he wanted to violate her in any way… yeah, that would be impossible now._

Once the man was on the ground, howling in pain, Claude dropped his bow and ran straight over to Byleth. “I’m not religious, but _thank the goddess _I decided to stay back and look for you...” He whispered as he used the sword in his possession to slice through the rope binding her arms, then the same for her ankles. “Everyone else returned to the monastery, but something didn’t feel right to me so I had to investigate.”

Byleth weakly laughed when she fell to her knees once she was free. The cold had almost completely sapped her of her energy at this point. “That’s what will make you a great leader… You trust your instincts...”

“_Really, _Teach? You turn me saving you from him doing some of the most vile things a man can do to you into a teaching moment?” He sighed as he removed the pin which kept his cloak over his shoulder, before draping it over both of hers. “Come on, you look freezing. I’ll get you back to the monastery and I’ll see if I can persuade Seteth to allow you access to the bathhouse to warm up as it’s far beyond its opening hours now.”

“I… I agree… But you’re going to need a bath too. You’re covered in blood, and we can’t have you dancing tomorrow with blood all over you, can we?”

“_Teach! _Like hell I’m dancing. Not if… not if stuff like this happens as a result of it. I don’t think I would have been able to live with myself if I had been a few minutes later than I was. That criminal… he would have...” Claude then shook his head, and frowned. “Let’s just get back.”

  


* * *

* * *

  


  


The first thing that Byleth did upon returning to Garreg Mach was grab hold of her usual outfit – her coat in particular. She was _not _going to wear that tattered dancers outfit again. Hell, she was going to destroy any evidence of her even being certified to be a dancer in the first place.

As promised, Claude had been able to use his silver tongue to persuade Seteth to have the bathhouse opened that night to just him and Byleth.

It was no surprise that people quickly found out about Claude saving Byleth from a lustful bandit with a shot to the crotch (he was very proud of that, and wouldn’t stop bragging), as well as them sharing a bath together afterwards. Rumours flew around that something more happened as they bathed, but nobody knew whether that was the case.

The only people who knew the answer to that were Claude and Byleth themselves, who would always exchange a quick smile whenever it got brought up.

_Oh, and Sothis. Who would grumble every time as being an unwilling third wheel._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I so need to write something extra extra fluffy and cute as an apology for this now ;n;

**Author's Note:**

> Requests are welcomed! SFW or NSFW are fine, I'll always specify in a chapter title if it is NSFW~


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